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Neuroscientist to Speak Against Reliance on Drugs as Cure-All for Mental Illness

Friday, April 2, 2004 - 12:00pm

For immediate release
April 2, 2004

Elliot S. Valenstein to speak
April 20 on
"Biochemical Theories of Mental Illness:
Should We Believe Them?"

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - What causes mental disorders? American
psychiatry has long sought the answer. Fifty years ago, the
prevailing view was that a variety of disorders had their origins
in early family experiences; treatment frequently involved years of
work between therapist and patient to find the underlying
causes.

Today, "it is widely believed by most authorities and the public
alike that the cause (of mental disorders) is a chemical imbalance
of the brain," writes Elliot S. Valenstein, professor emeritus of
psychology and neuroscience at the University of Michigan. Prozac
and lithium are prescribed to combat depression, for instance,
because they are thought to counter the chemical imbalance blamed
for the condition. "We have almost reached the point where there
will be no limits to what people believe brain chemistry can
explain," Valenstein writes in the introduction to Blaming the
Brain: The Truth about Drugs and Mental Health (The Free
Press/Simon and Schuster, 1998).

However, biochemical theories, for all their current popularity,
"are an unproven hypothesis, and probably a false one," Valenstein
argues. "I want to open up a dialogue about these issues." On
Tuesday, April 20, Valenstein will visit Mount Holyoke to speak on
"Biochemical Theories of Mental Illness: Should We Believe Them?"
His talk is scheduled for 7:30 PM in the Morrisson Room of the
Willits-Hallowell Center, and is free and open to the public. The
occasion is the 2004 Hastorf Lecture, an annual talk by a
distinguished speaker, sponsored by Albert and Barbara Hastorf. A
reception will follow the lecture.

The Chronicle of Higher Education found Valenstein to
be an "unlikely crusader" against prevailing biochemical theories.
"When Mr. Valenstein began his new book three years ago, he planned
to write a history of brain-chemistry theory, not a critique,"
Joshua Rolnick wrote in the Chronicle of December 4, 1998.
"'I used to lecture to students and put together a reasonably
coherent story,' he (Valenstein) says. 'I knew there were gaps, but
this was an emerging science.' By the time he was halfway through
writing the book, however, his skepticism had become unshakable. 'I
began to feel that the evidence that didn't fit was becoming
overwhelming.'"

Gail Hornstein, professor of psychology at Mount Holyoke and
coordinator of this year's Hastorf Lecture, adds: "I have used
Professor Valenstein's books in my classes for many years. Students
take for granted the 'chemical imbalance' theory of mental
illnesses as a result of being bombarded with advertisements from
the drug companies who make billions of dollars on products that
purport to 'correct' such imbalances. However, when students study
Professor Valenstein's work, and see how limited the evidence is in
support of any kind of biochemical basis for mental illness, they
are astonished and angry at having been taken in by the drug
companies' misleading claims. I'm delighted that Professor
Valenstein has accepted our invitation to lecture at Mount Holyoke
this spring, so that other students, faculty, and members of the
local community have the opportunity to hear his careful
critique."

Valenstein is professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience
and former chair of the biopsychology program at the University of
Michigan. He is the author of more than 140 scientific articles and
six books on the physiological basis of emotion and motivation,
hormones and behavior, and the history of biological treatments for
mental illness. The recipient of many honors and awards, Valenstein
has recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Behavioral
Neuroscience from the International Society of Behavioral
Neuroscience. He has participated in numerous public forums on
ethical and social issues in science, including an appearance on
William F. Buckley's "Firing Line," and has been invited to lecture
on his research all over the world.

Valenstein's two best-known books are Great and Desperate
Cures: The Rise and Decline of Psychosurgery and Other Radical
Treatments for Mental Illness (1986) and Blaming the
Brain (1998). He has been the recipient of many honors,
including induction into the Academy of Science of Mexico, the
Kenneth Craik Research Award from Cambridge University, England; an
award for Outstanding Achievement in Psychology from The City
University of New York; and an Award for Outstanding Achievement in
Published Works; and he was selected to be the 1992-93
distinguished senior lecturer of the LSA College of the University
of Michigan. He was elected to the Society for Experimental
Psychologists and is a member (or fellow) of numerous professional
and honorary societies, among them the International Brain Research
Organization, the Society for Neuroscience, the American
Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, the
International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi
Sigma, Sigma Xi, and Psi Chi.

Valenstein has served on scientific advisory panels for NIH,
NIMH, NSF, the Wisconsin Primate Center, the James McKeen Cattell
Foundation, the New York State Committee for Evaluating Doctoral
Psychology Programs, the Fulbright Council for International
Exchange of Scholars, Bowling Green State University's Neuroscience
Center, and on the editorial boards of many professional
journals.

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For more information, please contact Gail Hornstein, professor
of psychology, at 413-538-2339 or ghornste@mtholyoke.edu